


Out of the Woods

by jgods



Series: Bughead x Songs [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 14:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18802255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jgods/pseuds/jgods
Summary: Based on Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods'.





	Out of the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at any Bughead fanfiction! Any comments would be really appreciated.

Betty looked down at the photograph clutched in her hand; it showed her blonde hair tied into a messy bun atop her head, pressed into the neck of the man next to her. His arm was slung around her neck, tattoos barely visible in the fuzzy polaroid but she could recite them all from memory. She smiled slightly as she brought a finger to trace the cursive ‘B’ on the inside of his upper arm just like she did moments before he took the picture of them lying on his couch. Betty remembered that day clearly, a consistent tangle of legs, clashing of lips and frantic touches, and she smiled softly at how intense she felt them, as if the rest of the world was black and white and they were in screaming colour. But she also remembered the leather jacket with the serpent thrown over the back of the chair, the pocket knife heavy in the pocket and the doubt heavy in her mind – were they out of the woods yet? Betty bit her lip as her eyes began to sting, mentally berating herself for giving in and opening the box of memories. She had known what was hidden away at the bottom, but in the interest of reducing her possessions before her move, she had pushed past her hesitation to sort through the photographs, letters and trinkets she had amalgamated over the years. In truth, Betty hadn’t thought she would still be affected by him but the sight of the first polaroid of them as teenagers had sent her spiralling back to when they were so gone for each other. She reached over the box and grabbed her phone, not stopping to acknowledge the flicker of desire to finally call that number. Instead Betty shot a text to Veronica, the only person she could trust for good advice: 

Sorting through old things and he’s in there…quit while I’m ahead or just embrace the pain? 

It didn’t take long for the vibration to indicate Ronnie had replied to her: 

A good cry never hurt anyone. 

Betty chuckled out loud and then sighed heavily. She was really going to do this. Most of what she found in the box was photographs of them through the years, chronicling their life from children to teenagers to young adults, always by each other’s side, always protecting each other. Of course, there were the obvious signs of when he was initiated to the gang: the absence of the crown beanie, the tattoo on his bicep and the custom leather jacket. But Betty knew Jughead well and even after all these years she could pin point his affiliation from the dark circles under his eyes that had lost their spark.

‘And’, she supposed to herself ‘he really did start to fill out’. When Jughead joined the Serpents he had starting hitting the gym too, working on his self defence and building his stamina, which combined had caused more definition of his muscles, the hint of some abs beneath his t shirt. It was around that time that the attraction between them really began to hot up and soon the pair were inseparable, spending all their free time together and more importantly, alone. At the time Betty had pushed all her worries to the back of her mind but the deeper he got into the gang, the more he pulled away from her. They were speaking less and less, choosing instead to spend their days in bed, ignoring the outside world and the problems it put upon them.

As Betty reached into the box, her hand chanced upon the cool metal of an old necklace. It was the necklace Jughead had presented her with after he had stayed for the weekend, helping her move into her new place in New York City. Despite the fact their relationship had gone to shit a few weeks before, he had promised to bring her to the city in his Dad’s old truck and stay until she was settled. The time they spent together wasn’t awkward, despite everyone else’s trepidations. No one else knew that falling apart wasn’t uncommon for Betty and Jughead over their 2 years together, it was almost as if they were built for it. After a few days of exploring tourist traps and unpacking boxes, Betty was happy and confident in her decision to move upstate for college. Her heart did feel heavy as Jughead threw his clothes into his overnight bag but she knew this move would be ultimately good for her and would give her a chance to finally become her own person. What she wasn’t prepared for however, was Jughead to stand behind her and gently push her hair over her shoulder, fastening a small silver chain with a crown charm on it. Even now as Betty looked at the jewellery and considered it a little childish (and quite frankly ugly), she could recall the electrocuting touch of his fingers across her skin and the intoxicating feel of his lips as they gently brushed her forehead, and then her lips. He hadn’t left New York that night. They made love again and again, staying up all night drinking each other in. Now, as Betty let the chain run between her fingers, she felt her heart fly recalling the night she could never quite forget. After they had both come undone again, they pushed all her furniture to the side of the apartment and slow danced to their favourite songs, with the crown necklace glinting in the light of dawn. It was as Jughead dipped Betty back that she could see he fear in his eyes and, as if to kiss he neck, he leant down and whispered softly: ‘Are we in the clear yet?’ 

Betty was shocked back into the present by the vibrating of an incoming call. For a split second she thought it would be him until her brain caught up and saw that Veronica was calling her. 

‘Hey, what’s up?’ 

‘Just wanted to see how you were doing, B. I know how much you loved Jughead and memories of the past are going to hurt, no matter how much you try to deny it’ 

It was a moment before Betty could reply, a lump in her throat becoming too big to get past. Veronica knew her too well; it would be easy too pretend that she was okay and that the past didn’t affect her. But it wasn’t the past that was the problem, it was Jughead. Him in his entirety. 

‘It’s just still so fucked V. I haven’t seen him in years, not since I walked out on him after the accident. I thought that I was fine and that I didn’t care but just looking at a few things has brought back all the memories and it’s been 7 years with nothing! I thought he would try to at least call me, but not a word.’ 

The months passed quickly after Betty started college, the passage of time marked mostly by assignment deadlines and exam dates for her and her fellow classmates. She had built a good network of friends at Columbia and so as a result spent a lot of her time around people. It was only when she was alone that her time passed in completely different ways, counting the number of days since Jughead was last injured and then, after about a year of being away, the number of days since he last contacted her. It had been 47 days of nothing when she saw him across the room at one of Veronica’s house party. He wasn’t wearing his Serpent jacket, favouring instead a white t shirt and dark jeans over his combat boots. She could clearly see his muscles flexing as he lifted his drink to his mouth and her eyes immediately searched his tattoos for the familiar ‘B’ he had gotten for her years earlier. Betty felt her heart begin to pound when she finally studied his face, he sported a black eye and split lip, with a bruise fading along his jaw line. He hadn’t noticed her in the apartment and so, with some liquid courage, she turned away and found some friends out on the balcony. If he was able to ghost her so easily, then she would give him the same treatment. 

Veronica’s voiced floated through the phone, ‘You know what you could do to rectify it Betty. And if it goes wrong, then I’ll be on hand for mimosas and mani-pedis.’ 

‘I know, it just feels like he should be the one to reach out first because he was the one that fucked up.’ 

‘Yes, the accident was his fault but you’ve got to take charge of your own life. Do what you need to do.’ With that Ronnie made her goodbyes and hung up, leaving Betty more confused than ever before. It was Jughead’s fault their friendship had halted when they were 19, it was his fault they ended up as strangers and Betty didn’t know if she could bring herself to make the first move. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 days later she had finally packed up her entire apartment and managed to throw away about a half of her possessions. She wasn’t moving far across the city and her new loft wasn’t really much smaller than her current place, but she was all for a fresh start. She had lived in the same apartment since she moved to the city and now it was time to start again. And for that very reason Betty decided that she needed real closure from everything. She grabbed her phone and without thinking, called Jughead’s number. Of course he didn’t fucking pick up. It rang and rang and rang, eventually going to answerphone. It might have been the two glasses of wine or it might have been sheer stupidity but Betty didn’t recognise herself as she left a message. 

‘Come to New York.’ 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jughead took his break at the Wyrm about an hour later, his heart stuttering when he saw the missed call and voicemail from Betty. As soon as he heard it, he jumped on his bike and almost flew to her apartment, arriving in the dead of night. He pounded up the stairs to her door and hesitated only for a split second before he knocked. He didn’t think he was breathing when the door began to open beneath his fist and he stepped inside, looking round for Betty with a smile.

‘How fucking dare you?!’ Jughead’s smile dropped quickly when he heard the anger in her voice. He spun around and saw Betty stood behind him, hands on her hips and a hazy fire in her eyes. He knew immediately she’d been drinking and there was probably nothing he could do except ride out her anger. ‘It’s been 7 years Jug, 7 years with nothing, not even an apology! You knew you’d been drinking that night at Veronica’s and yet you still let me get on the back of that bike. You put my life at risk!’ She was starting to cry now, finding it too difficult to keep going. 

At Veronica’s party, Jughead had finally gone to the balcony to smoke. He’d only come to the dumb party to see her and apologise for the month of silence but in the wait for her arrival, he’d sunk a few beers. He was feeling the alcohol when he caught up with her outside and nearly seeing double when he invited her for a ride on his bike. Somewhere deep inside he knew he was being a reckless idiot, but his lifestyle in the Serpents was always on the edge, and a little drink driving wasn’t anymore dangerous than the gang fights or drug runs he was used to. What he didn’t factor in was the distraction of having Betty’s arms wrapped around him and her face pressed into the back of his neck. 

Now stood in her packed-up apartment, he slowly dragged his eyes up from the floor to meet hers. She opened her mouth and barely breathed the words, ‘Remember Jug, remember how you hit the brakes too soon?’. She took a sharp intake of breath and continued, getting louder and louder, ‘Remember how we ended up in that hospital room? I needed 20 stitches. I have the fucking scar to prove it!’. She was shouting and pointing at the scar down the side of her face and he couldn’t bear to see the hurt he’d caused. All of the guilt and sadness from the past 7 years boiled over and he was moving before he could even register his actions.

‘OF COURSE I REMEMBER’ Jughead shouted, slamming his fist against the wall. ‘Its all I’ve fucking thought about for the past 7 years. You’re all I’ve thought about! Every night before I sleep, every morning when I wake up all I see is you looking at me when the sun came up, telling me that we couldn’t take the heat and that the reason you were walking out was to set me free. I didn’t need setting free, I just  
needed you!’. 

Betty was taken aback and could only gently take his hand in hers, quickly assessing if he had done any real damage by punching her wall. She walked them both over to the middle of the room where there was a free space, and sat down on the floor. They talked and talked all night, catching up on what they’d missed out on and reflecting on their failed relationship with their new found adult wisdom. To the surprise of both of them, they never crossed the boundaries of friends and when Jughead made to leave in the morning, both of their hearts felt lighter. He had made it to the door when he heard her calling back to him. 

‘Hey Jug, I think we’re out of the woods now. I think we’re in the clear.’


End file.
